User:TheLastGherkin/Sandbox:Pitch
"Transformers Animated Pitch Document" is the title given to a sixty page PDF file collating behind-the-scenes files and images from the development of Transformers Animated. Released by fansite The Allspark on September 19, 2016, the document contains scanned pages from Animated's production bible, as well as sundry other pieces of concept art.
Owing to... circumstances, the document is no longer online for viewing at its original location, but TFWiki.net has provided an archived copy below.
Show bible
The first thirty-two pages of the document consist of a revision of the Animated show bible, dated to March 27, 2006, and written by Marty Isenberg. Isenberg sets the scene of 22th Century Detroit – or "De-Droid" – as a hot spot of technological advancement; one that is ripe for exploitation by all manner of super-villains, ranging from low-level human hackers to space-faring Decepticons. This preface positions the Autobots as the heroes to save the day – almost certainly a consequence of one of Animated's working titles, "Transformers: Heroes".
The bible goes on to pitch "TFA" as a modern reinvention of Transformers in the vein of contemporary hits like Ben 10 and Teen Titans, making the most of its titular animated format to dial up character expressiveness, imaginative locations and action, and visual humour ("without going squash and stretch – we're not THAT kind of animated").
Subsequent pages go on to describe the basic premise of "Transform and Roll Out": Optimus Prime and his ragtag crew of misfit Autobots uncover "the Cube" in an unremarkable sector of Cybertronian space, finding themselves pursued across the galaxy by Megatron and his Decepticon army, who would use the Cube for conquest. The ensuing battle results in the destruction of the Decepticon ship and the salvation of the Cube, but the Autobot ship plummets to "a remote backwater planet known as Earth."
The Autobots blend in by assuming emergency vehicle disguises, but it's not long until they're using their robot modes' special skills to aid the humans in preventing an industrial disaster. Now regarded as the city's own superheroes and celebrities, their vehicle modes become like their secret identities – literally becoming robots in disguise. They're guided through their exploration of the joys of Earth life by eight-year-old Sari Sumdac, daughter of robotics magnate Isaac Sumdac, whose unique connection to the Cube has granted her "the Key", an item filled with the power to recharge and heal Cybertronian lifeforms.
The Key and the Cube are both of great interest to the Decepticons, who are regrouping in the shadows and preparing to return with a vengeance. Sure, the Autobots have it easy with Detroit's human supervillains, but Optimus knows that he must transform his crew of unseasoned rookies into real heroes to protect their new home from the threat that followed them here. The fate of two worlds hangs in the balance!
